A. (1) Any public procurement unit may either participate in, sponsor, conduct, or administer a cooperative purchasing agreement for the acquisition of any supplies, services, major repairs, or construction with one or more public procurement units or external procurement activities or one or more private procurement units in accordance with an agreement entered into between the participants. Such cooperative purchasing may include but is not limited to joint or multi-party contracts between public procurement units and open-ended state public procurement unit contracts which are made available to local public procurement units.

(2) Any public procurement unit may procure materials, supplies, and equipment from federal General Services Administration supply schedules in accordance with rules and regulations which may be adopted by the central purchasing agency of the division of administration. Such purchases need not comply with the competitive bidding requirements of this Chapter. However, such materials, supplies, or equipment shall not be purchased at a price higher than the price of the same item listed on any available state procurement contract.

(3) Any public procurement unit may procure materials, supplies, equipment, and services related to homeland security from federal General Services Administration supply schedules. Such purchases shall:

(a) Utilize a Louisiana distributor.

(b) Use the competitive ordering procedures of the federal General Services Administration.

(c) Receive prior approval from the director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, or his designee.

B. (1) A private procurement unit acquiring supplies through cooperative purchasing shall acquire such supplies for its own use and not for the purpose of resale in competition with private enterprise.

(2) A private procurement unit shall certify to the vendor with each order that the supplies covered thereby are to be acquired for its own use and not for the purpose of resale in competition with private enterprise and shall provide a copy of such certification to the central purchasing agency within the division of administration.

(3) Upon certification by the commissioner of administration that the purchase of one or more types of supplies by a private procurement unit under this Section may adversely affect the interests of the state by impeding the ability of the division of administration to attract responsible bidders for such supplies, the governor shall have the authority to limit or eliminate the right of a private procurement unit to purchase such types of supplies to the extent necessary to eliminate the adverse affect on the state.

C. No use shall be made of federal General Services Administration supply schedules under the provisions of this Section without the participation of a Louisiana licensed dealer or distributor.